Simon Marius
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- For the 18th-century composer, see Johann Simon Mayr.
| Simon Marius | |
 Simon Marius
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| Born | January 10, 1573 Gunzenhausen |
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| Died | December 26, 1624 |
| Residence | Ansbach |
| Nationality | Germany |
| Fields | Astronomy |
| Known for | Jupiter |
Simon Marius (latinized from German Simon Mayr) (January 10, 1573 – December 26, 1624) was a German astronomer. He was born in Gunzenhausen near Nuremberg, but most of his lifetime he spent in the city of Ansbach.
In 1614 Marius published his work Mundus lovialis describing the planet Jupiter and its moons. Here he claimed to have discovered the planet's four major moons some days before Galileo. This led to a dispute with Galileo, who showed that Marius provided only one observation as early as Galileo's, and it matched Galileo's diagram for the same date, as published in 1610. It is considered possible that Marius discovered the moons independently, but at least some days later than Galileo.
Regardless of priority, the mythological names by which these satellites are known today (Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto) are those given them by Marius: (Mundus Iovialis, p. 78 f.):
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- Io, Europa, Ganymed atque Callisto lascivo nimium perplacuere Iovi.
- Io, Europa, Ganymed and also Callisto have pleased playful Jupiter all too much.
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Simon Marius also observed the Andromeda "nebula", which had in fact already been known to Arab astronomers of the Middle Ages.
[edit] Work
- Mundus Iovialis anno MDCIX Detectus Ope Perspicilli Belgici (Die Welt des Jupiter, 1609 mit dem flämischen Teleskop entdeckt; Lateinisches Faksimile und deutsche Übersetzung; Hrsg. und bearb. von Joachim Schlör. Naturwiss. begleitet und mit einem Nachw. vers. von Alois Wilder)
- Zinner, E., "Zur Ehrenrettung des Simon Marius", in: Vierteljahresschrift der Astronomischen Gesellschaft, 77. Jahrgang, 1. Heft, Leipzig 1942
- Bosscha, J., "Simon Marius. Réhabilitation d´un astronome calomnié", in: Archives Nederlandaises des Sciences Exactes et Naturelles, Ser. II, T. XII, S. 258 - 307, 490 - 528, La Haye, 1907
[edit] External links
- Simon Marius in the German National Library catalogue
- The Galileo Project — biography of Simon Marius.
- Simon-Marius-Gymnasium — Simon-Marius-Gymnasium Gunzenhausen, named after the astronomer.
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